Open University of West Africa

Open University of West Africa

university

Year dem found am	2012
Country	Ghana
Edey de administrative territorial entity insyd	Accra
Coordinate location	5°33′31″N 0°10′18″W

Dem found Open University of West Africa (OUWA) for Ghana for November 2011 insyd by John Roberts den Patrick Steele. Plus de goal say dem go break de poverty cycle for West Africa through online education, John Roberts den ein co-founder cam make inspired by sam simple but contradictory observation: at de moment, higher education penetration in Africa was very low, na chaw best universities around de world start dey put dema courses online through platforms like Coursera, edX, Udacity etc.

De two founders cam turn driven by de idea of harnessing dis “perfect storm” of free Open Educational Resources (OER), cheaper access give mobile technology, den de profound need say dem go spur development through higher-ed for West African countries insyd.

Dema History

Edey Ghana, Open University of West Africa (OUWA) provide extremely low-cost education (US$10/year), wey as dem sana encourage each student say make dem cam turn sam agent of change dis fight insyd. For West Africa insyd, dem enrol less than 10% of students for institution of higher education, wey extreme poverty be life-threatening reality give chaw. Despite sam efforts by West African governments so say ego expand educational opportunities, na no tangible improvements dey for de field of education for dis region of Africa. Simple efforts say ego increase de number of menners dem enrol for schools no solve de problem. Without accessibility give quality higher education , little hope of students dey say dem go cam turn professionals such as business owners, doctors den government officials. Without dese industry den community leaders, economic development be almost impossible.

Open University of West Africa attract numerous potential students. After say dem ope sam ‘internet café of education’ for Accra, Ghana, OUWA start plus more than 40 students wey dey attend de courses. Sam year den half go launch, OUWA get around 200 students. Dis represent de largest concentration of students wey dey access MOOCs for Sub-Saharan African insyd. De most promising aspect of de small “campus” be say e allow for de like-minded students, so say dem collaborate plus demma peers, wey dem start dey form groups togeda so say dem go start venture businesses. Dis very natural student-led idea cam turn sam essential pivot-point give de co-founders wey dey lead de “Educate– Incubate– Invest” business model wey na efor cam turn de launching point for de next phase of dis pioneering “new school”.

De End of OUWA, Beginning of InvestED, PBC

Plus de new understanding say scaling be much easier den more effective, in terms of reaching chaw menners wey be underprivileged, through mobile platforms, OUWA give birth to InvestED. Whereas na OUWA ein goal be say ego provide affordable accredited education, InvestED go focus for non-accredited training den lifelong learning top. OUWA exist plus mission say ego bring great education give menners wey dey lack access den leveraged technology by say dem go be de last mile delivery system for open educational resources. Although OUWA recently cease operations, wat deem learn for four years of blazing new tym fuel de founding of InvestED: sam android-based app “so say ego educate struggling entrepreneurs towards financial stability via cutting-edge mobile technology.”